March 18, 2017
Julie Meynen, Ashley Neidigh and the 400 free relay teams will all have nighttime swims after the final prelims session of the 2017 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships wrapped up Saturday morning at the IU Natotorium in Indianapolis.
Meynen, a freshman from Luxembourg, is seeded 15th in the 100 free after going a personal-best 48.04 in the morning. Her time, which kept her as the fourth-fastest performer in Auburn history, tied for the 20th-fastest performance in school history. Current Director of Operations Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace holds the school record at 46.61 and has 18 of the top 20 performance.
Meynen will also return for the final event, the 400 free relay, where she and Aly Tetzloff, Ashton Ellzey and Allyx Purcell are seeded 12th after posting a 3:13.55 in the morning. Tetzloff's leadoff leg of 48.53 is a personal-best and places her in a tie with Purcell and Becky Short as the seventh-fastest 100 free performer in school history.
Including prelims and finals, the swim will be the last of eight swims for Meynen over the course of three days.
Neidigh will be in lane 8 of the 1650 freestyle final heat after qualifying in 15:56.95 from her SEC Championship-winning swim.
Breanna Roman put up a personal-best 2:11.52 in the 200 breast, which makes her the seventh-fastest performer in school history while Natasha Lloyd went 2:11.37, though neither could crack the top 16 where it took a 2:09.79 to return for the consolation finals.
Haley Black, who took ninth and set a school record in the 100 fly on Friday, shaved a second-and-a-half off of her personal-best to clock a 1:57.90 in the 200 fly, making her the 10th-fastest performer in school history. Bailey Nero went 1:56.80 to place 26th, a 10-spot improvement over last year, as it took a 1:55.52 to earn a consolation finals swim.
ESPN3.com will stream the championships finals sessions live on Friday and Saturday. Wednesday's evening session, Thursday's sessions along with the morning sessions on Friday and Saturday will be streamed live on NCAA.com and indianasportscorp.org/ncaasd. Additionally, ESPNU will air a two-hour broadcast via tape delay at 7 p.m. Eastern time, Tuesday, March 28. Live results for the championships will be available on NCAA.com.
Saturday Auburn Prelims Results
200 Backstroke
48. Erin Falconer 1:57.55
100 Freestyle
15. Julie Meynen 48.04
35. Aly Tetzloff 48.76
200 Breaststroke
29. Natasha Lloyd 2:11.37
32. Breanna Roman 2:11.52
200 Butterfly
26. Bailey Nero 1:56.80
T35. Haley Black 1:57.90
400 Freestyle Relay
12. Auburn (Tetzloff 48.53, Meynen 47.95, Ellzey 48.90, Purcell 48.17) 3:13.55